


Pillar

by Anonymous



Category: EXO (Band), SHINee
Genre: M/M, Moving On, Past Relationship(s), letting go, past kris/suho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 12:21:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6469900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wu YiFan, gone but still there, so present even if it’s vague like a trace of cigarette smoke. Minho can sometimes smell it on Junmyeon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pillar

There’s always going to be that weight on Junmyeon’s shoulders, W u Y i F a n, gone but still _there_ , so present even if it’s vague like a trace of cigarette smoke. Because Minho can sometimes smell it on Junmyeon, just like smoke.

There’s a dressing room for the awards ceremony. Junmyeon’s pout morphs into a smile when Minho walks in. He shuts the door behind him with a soft click. 

Minho slides into the seat next to Junmyeon’s, brown skin washed out under the glare of the vanity lightbulbs. His eyes shine even more than usual, if that’s possible.

“Nervous, hyung?”

Junmyeon shrugs.

“It’s been years, you get used to it.”

Maybe Minho imagined the clipped tone in that phrase, but he still presses his lips tight into a line.

Junmyeon exhales, taps his fingers along the vanity counter without any real rhythm. Minho waits, tests the waters with one broad palm on Junmyeon’s knee.

“We’re performing, but Jongin’s ankle isn’t in good shape, and if the company keeps pushing him, he could end up like -” 

He stops there.

“Hyung,”

“They’re all strong, they don’t _really_ need me. But I have to be there. I can’t…”

Junmyeon’s always been good with his words, so good it sometimes comes out too earnest, too genuine. Cheesy. Right now though, he’s no good, so Minho has to be. Fill up the quiet with honesty.

“You don’t have to carry everything alone, Junmyeon.”

Minho can see it now, the lines in Junmyeon’s face that spell out Yi Fan’s name, that spell out the sudden loneliness from two years ago. A pillar gone, so Junmyeon had to repair the foundation. 

Junmyeon stays quiet, stares at the countertop.

“I won’t leave you.”

Junmyeon looks so tired, so pale - even more than usual. Minho thinks if he reaches out he’ll feel frigid. He grabs his hand and it’s warm.

“You can, if you want.”

“I don’t want to.”

Minho leans over, leaves the seat so he can kiss the top of Junmyeon’s cheeks, the place his lashes touch when he blinks.

He doesn’t whisper when he says “Love you,” against Junmyeon’s skin. The concealed dark circles.

Junmyeon inhales, a little sharp. Then he hesitates and all Minho can focus on is that beat of silence between them. The buzz of the lightbulbs and the chatter outside the door and his own breathing all cancel out. It’s not like Minho hasn’t told him before, in the dark wrapped around each other. But this moment feels almost painfully tender.

“Love you too.”

Minho smiles so bright that Junmyeon can only smile back, the lines along his face disappearing as his cheeks go a touch pink under the makeup. He squeezes Minho’s hand, and Minho pulls him up.


End file.
